After 106 years, the Church and the Boy Scouts of America parted ways with a joint statement of thanks. The reason was a map: most Latter-day Saints now live outside the United States.
The question often assumes the Church left Scouting angry or as a culture-war protest. The record says otherwise. On May 8, 2018, the Church and the Boy Scouts of America jointly announced that the Church would end its chartered relationship with all Scouting programs effective December 31, 2019. The stated reason: the Church had become a worldwide organization, with most members outside the United States, and needed “a uniform youth leadership and development program that serves its members globally.” Children and Youth began January 1, 2020.
The answerA global Church outgrew a national program
The Church left Scouting because it had become a worldwide church that needed one youth program for every member in every country. On May 8, 2018, the Church and the Boy Scouts of America issued a joint statement announcing that, effective December 31, 2019, the Church would end its relationship as a chartered organization with all Scouting programs worldwide. On January 1, 2020, the Church began its Children and Youth program for all girls and boys, young women and young men, everywhere. The reason the two organizations gave together: “the Church has grown from a U.S.-centered institution to a worldwide organization, with a majority of its membership living outside the United States. That trend is accelerating.”
A century of Scouting1913 to 2019
The Church adopted Scouting for its young men in 1913 and for decades was one of the largest sponsors of Scouting units in the United States. Generations of Latter-day Saint boys earned merit badges and Eagle ranks through ward troops, with bishoprics and ward members as leaders. The joint statement put it plainly: “The Scouting program has benefited hundreds of thousands of Latter-day Saint boys and young men, and BSA has also been greatly benefited in the process.”
The separation came in steps. In May 2017 the Church announced it would stop using the Varsity and Venturing programs for young men ages 14 to 18 in the United States and Canada, starting in 2018. A year later came the full announcement. During the transition the Church stayed “a fully engaged partner in Scouting for boys and young men ages 8–13” and asked families to keep participating and supporting Scouting until the end date.
The joint statementIn their own words
The key sentences: “The Church has increasingly felt the need to create and implement a uniform youth leadership and development program that serves its members globally. In so doing, it will be necessary for the Church to discontinue its role as a chartered partner with BSA. We have jointly determined that, effective on December 31, 2019, the Church will conclude its relationship as a chartered organization with all Scouting programs around the world.” And: “While the Church will no longer be a chartered partner of BSA or sponsor Scouting units after December 31, 2019, it continues to support the goals and values reflected in the Scout Oath and Scout Law and expresses its profound desire for Scouting’s continuing and growing success in the years ahead.”
A note on the noise around it. BSA changed several membership policies in 2015 and 2017, and some commentators tied the Church’s decision to those changes. The joint statement and the Church’s FAQ give the global reason and say the Church had been reviewing all of its children and youth programs for years. Scouting also never served most Latter-day Saint youth: outside the United States, many countries had no Church Scouting program at all, and young women never had one. The Church replaced its girls’ and young women’s programs at the same time. That is consistent with the stated reason. See What Is a Stake?.
Children and YouthWhat replaced it
Children and Youth began on January 1, 2020, and replaced Scouting, Faith in God, Activity Days, Duty to God and Personal Progress with one approach for everyone ages 8 to 18. Children and youth set their own goals, with their parents and leaders, in four areas modeled on one verse about the Savior’s youth: spiritual, social, physical and intellectual. The Church’s FAQ said it was meant to “reduce burdens on families, with greater flexibility to adapt to the needs of individuals and families around the world in many different circumstances.” The same program runs in a ward in Utah, a branch in Ghana and a family in Brazil. See Why Do Latter-day Saints Serve Missions?.
The BibleWisdom, stature, and favour
The program’s four areas come from Luke: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Wisdom is intellectual, stature physical, favour with God spiritual, favour with man social. Every youth program the Church has run serves the old proverb, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6), and Paul’s charge to the young: “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers” (1 Timothy 4:12).
The Book of MormonTrue at all times
The Book of Mormon’s model young men had no merit badges. Helaman’s stripling warriors “were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all—they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted. Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him” (Alma 53:20–21). They were taught by their mothers. That is the target of any program: courage, strength and faithfulness, learned first at home.
The Doctrine and CovenantsLearn his duty
The revelation on priesthood ends with a sentence that described the Church’s Scouting years and still describes Children and Youth: “Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence” (D&C 107:99). Programs are tools for that. When a tool fits only part of a worldwide Church, the Church picks one that fits all of it. See Aaronic vs. Melchizedek Priesthood.
The Pearl of Great PriceHonest, true, chaste
Read the Scout Law next to the thirteenth article of faith and you see why the partnership lasted a century: “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men … If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (Articles of Faith 1:13). The values were never the issue, and the Church said so on the way out. See What Are the Articles of Faith?.
Check the premiseThe presuppositions baked into the question
Before this question can be answered fairly, the person asking has to justify a few assumptions packed inside it:
- That the Church left Scouting in anger or as a culture-war protest. The Church and BSA announced it together, with mutual gratitude. The stated reason was a worldwide membership needing one program.
- That the decision was sudden. The Church had reviewed its youth programs for years. It dropped Varsity and Venturing for older youth starting in 2018, then set a transition of more than 18 months.
- That leaving Scouting means rejecting its values. The joint statement says the Church “continues to support the goals and values reflected in the Scout Oath and Scout Law.”
- That a U.S. program served the whole Church. Most members live outside the United States, and Scouting never served Latter-day Saint girls or most international youth.
FAQQuick answers
Why did the LDS Church leave Boy Scouts?
The Church and BSA said in a joint statement that the Church, now mostly outside the United States, needed one youth program that serves members worldwide.
When did the Church stop sponsoring Scouts?
Its chartered relationship with all Scouting programs ended on December 31, 2019.
When was the Church and BSA joint statement released?
May 8, 2018.
How long was the Church involved with Scouting?
More than 100 years. The Church adopted Scouting for its young men in 1913.
What replaced Scouting in the Church?
The Children and Youth program, which began January 1, 2020, for all children and youth ages 8 to 18 worldwide.
What are the four areas of Children and Youth?
Spiritual, social, physical and intellectual, based on Luke 2:52.
Did the Church leave Scouting because of BSA policy changes?
Some commentators made that link. The joint statement and Church FAQ give the global reason and say the review had been underway for years.
Can Latter-day Saint boys still join Scouts?
Yes. Families may join Scouting through other sponsors; the Church simply no longer charters units.
SummaryKey takeaways
- The Church adopted Scouting in 1913; the partnership lasted more than 100 years.
- Joint statement: May 8, 2018. Partnership ended: December 31, 2019.
- Reason: a worldwide Church needs one youth program for all members.
- Children and Youth began January 1, 2020, built on Luke 2:52.
- The Church still supports the values of the Scout Oath and Law.
Set one goal this week in each of the four areas of Luke 2:52. For quick, sourced answers, open Galatians18, and follow me on X at @TraviXai.
Sources
- King James Bible (churchofjesuschrist.org): Proverbs 22:6 · Luke 2:52 · 1 Timothy 4:12
- Book of Mormon: Alma 53:20–21
- Doctrine and Covenants: D&C 107:99
- Pearl of Great Price: Articles of Faith 1:13
- Joint Statement from the Church and the Boy Scouts of America (May 8, 2018) · Church Newsroom, “Church Announces Plan for Worldwide Initiative for Children and Youth”
- Church Newsroom, FAQ for New Initiative for Children and Youth Development
- Featured image and in-article graphic: original graphics by thebookofmormon.ai (painterly backgrounds; no photographs or likenesses of real people).
